Celtics are galvanized by their Game 7 loss to LeBron and the Cavs

Tuesday

With the additions of a healthy Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, the Celtics should be favored in the Eastern Conference next year, especially if LeBron James bolts for the Lakers.

WALTHAM — As devastating as losing Game 7 at home and not heading to the NBA Finals may be for the Celtics, Aron Baynes tried to convince his young teammates to use the defeat as motivation for next season.

Baynes informed them that when he played for the Spurs, they also lost to LeBron James in Game 7, in the 2013 NBA Finals.

“Galvanized our team for the next year,” Baynes told the media at the Celtics’ practice facility on Monday. “You guys know what happened the next year.”

In 2014, the Spurs beat LeBron James and Miami in five games in the NBA Finals.

“With the way these guys are,” Baynes said of his Celtics teammates, “I think that's something that is definitely attainable because they’re a special group.”

Baynes said he didn’t sleep for much the night after Game 7 because he kept thinking about how the Celtics can repeat what the Spurs did.

“I see a lot of similarities,” he said.

Al Horford reminds Baynes of his former Spurs teammate Tim Duncan in always placing the team above his individual goals, but Baynes said all the Celtics feel the same way.

“There’s not too many teams that have a roster full of guys that would do that,” he said.

With the additions of a healthy Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, the Celtics should be favored in the Eastern Conference, especially if James bolts for the Lakers.

“It put the young guys straight into the flame,” Baynes said. “They know what to expect, they know what it takes, it’s going to give them a lot of drive over the summer, it’s going to give everyone a lot of drive over the summer.”

Brown can’t wait for next season so he can put his disappointing Game 7 behind him. He shot only 5-of-18, including 3-of-12 on 3-pointers, and scored 13 points.

“It’s humbling to get to a certain point and lose,” the 21-year-old Brown said. “It makes you want to get better and it makes me realize how much better I need to get. So it’s encouraging really. It’s always a dual perspective. This summer, I’m looking forward to coming back twice as good.”

The Celtics made only seven of their 3-point attempts in Game 7, but Houston fared even worse in its Game 7 loss to Golden State, shooting 7-of-44 from beyond the arc and missing 27 in a row. You live by the 3, you die by the 3.

Baynes will become an unrestricted free agent this summer so he may not be back next season.

“I’d love to be a part of it, that’s for sure,” Baynes said.

Danny Ainge, Celtics president of basketball operations, said he’d like for Baynes to return as well.

“He’s a great teammate,” Ainge said. “He takes a lot of pressure off of Al, plays all the tough guys, brings a consistent energy day in and day out to practice and games. He was a really big part of our team this year.”

Greg Monroe and Shane Larkin are also unrestricted free agents, and Marcus Smart is a restricted free agent so the Celtics can match any offers.

Baynes took a beating all season by stepping in front of dunk attempts and playing physical defense, but he said he feels better than he has at the end of any season, except that he’ll need nose surgery after having it broken in Game 6 in Cleveland.

His 2 1/2-year-old son accidentally kicked him in the nose Monday morning.

The season ended earlier than the Celtics had hoped, but it lasted longer than any season in which Marcus Morris has played. In his previous six seasons with Houston, Phoenix, and Detroit, he played only four playoff games, all with Detroit in 2016.

This offseason should go a lot smoother for Morris. Prior to last season, he and his twin brother Markieff, a forward for the Wizards, went to trial for aggravated assault but were found not guilty. Then he missed the first eight games of the season and 28 games in all due to a sore left knee.

“I dealt with a lot of stuff in the summer, the court situation and my knee being the way it was,” Morris said. “Started off slow, but gradually found my way and became a big help for this team. Playing in Boston is special, man. I’ve been around a lot of places and Boston has definitely been my favorite.”

Celtics fans loved the way Morris screamed in the faces of opponents.

“Actually, this is probably the most I’ve ever screamed in my life,” he said. “I’m not really a big screamer. Off the court, I am so much different than I am on the court. So I just thought that at times we needed that and they feed off of it so definitely a fun experience.”